Soap Box: Martin McCann of Sack talks of his love of vinyl.

I can honestly say I love music. All types of music, too – although having said that, I’ll probably reach for the heavy-duty wax earplugs if I’m ever subjected to the treacle tones of Daniel O’Donnell, or forced to suffer the agonising buzz of Hair Rock.

As a fresh-faced 16-year-old, I braved the smoky venues of mid-’80s Dublin, bowing to the Gods of electro-pop, and accidentally segued from the live stage to the DJ booth. Looking back, it was an inevitable transition, born of the desire to continue to entertain the masses and present them with my own taste in music.

My love of vinyl was a prominent part of my life. I have fond memories of Saturday afternoons spent wandering between Base X Records on Bachelor’s Walk and Freebird on Grafton Street, rummaging through the second-hand section hoping to stumble across a life-changer – or at least something that could make me dress appropriately. The post-punk independent labels such as Factory and Cherry Red opened so many ‘I can do that too’ doors, from album art to the music contained inside. 

That feeling of getting home and heading straight to the bedroom to indulge in that day’s discovery is one I’m unlikely to ever have again, but I’m certainly not sad about it.
These days, the overwhelming opportunity to avail of new music is far more likely to frustrate me into abstinence. Harsh words you might say, but the old way of listening to music has been well and truly interfered with; these days that life-changing adventure is downloadable, and completely effortless.

That said, I never thought I’d transition from vinyl to CDs for DJing purposes, but it happened. The revelation of being able to cram so much more music into my record bag via-my own compilation CDs was most appealing. I remember the cries of ‘Blasphemer!’ way back then, and I’ve recently turned a blind ear to similar mutterings in relation to DJs like myself who use controllers. Yes, there’s a slight difference in sound quality, but let’s face it – to have access to seemingly unlimited libraries for any occasion is essential for any collector. A good DJ, after all, is a master of the mood. Reading a room becomes second nature after almost 30 years – or at least I hope it has! 

One thing that will never change, though, is the ‘inappropriate request’. Yep, there’ll always be someone who’ll request that soft-rock classic in the middle of your old-school house set – and if and when you manage to skillfully oblige, you’ll realise they’ve nipped out for a smoke. 

At which point, of course, you can always engage the ‘laser beam eliminator’ feature on your controller when they return – fat chance of a turntable ever being able to do that!

Sack play The Grand Social, Dublin on September 2 and Body & Soul at Electric Picnic